Portable air conditioner for low microbe and low particulate environments

ABSTRACT

A low-microbe/low particulate commercial portable air conditioner includes a housing, the housing having an ambient air entry grill, a cold air discharge grate, a condenser air inlet gill and a warm air discharge grill disposed therein. The low-microbe/low particulate commercial portable air conditioner also includes a plurality of wheels, the plurality of wheels affixed to the housing and an evaporator positioned within the housing. In addition, the low-microbe/low particulate commercial portable air conditioner has an evaporator chamber positioned within the housing and abutting the evaporator, the evaporator chamber in fluid communication with the ambient air entry grill and the cold air discharge grate, the evaporator chamber coated with smooth surface insulation, a condenser positioned within the housing, wherein the condenser and condenser air stream are isolated from the evaporator chamber and evaporator air stream.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a non-provisional application which claims priorityfrom U.S. provisional application No. 62/564,533, filed Sep. 28, 2017,which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD/FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure relates generally to a portable air conditioner,and specifically to a portable air conditioner for a low microbe/lowparticulate environment.

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE

Commercial portable air conditioners have traditionally been used forhot manufacturing environments. These commercial portable airconditioners have found use in a variety of environments to providetemporary, spot, or supplemental cooling for commercial and industrialapplications. However, because of the ambient air quality and humidenvironment within commercial portable air conditioners, microbes maygrow and contaminates in the ambient air may be expelled into thesurrounding environment. While such microbial growth and normal ambientair qualities present little issue with traditional uses of commercialportable air conditioners, traditional commercial portable airconditioners are restricted from environments where deleterious microbesand/or large airborne particulates are undesirable.

SUMMARY

The disclosure includes a low-microbe/low particulate commercialportable air conditioner. The low-microbe/low particulate commercialportable air conditioner includes a housing, the housing having anambient air entry grill, a cold air discharge grate, a condenser airinlet grill and a warm air discharge grill disposed therein. Thelow-microbe/low particulate commercial portable air conditioner alsoincludes a plurality of wheels, the plurality of wheels affixed to thehousing and an evaporator positioned within the housing. In addition,the low-microbe/low particulate commercial portable air conditioner hasan evaporator chamber positioned within the housing and abutting theevaporator, the evaporator chamber in fluid communication with theambient air entry grill and the cold air discharge grate, the evaporatorchamber coated with smooth surface insulation, a condenser positionedwithin the housing, wherein the condenser and condenser air stream areisolated from the evaporator chamber and evaporator air stream.

The disclosure also includes a method of cooling air within a hospital,clinic, clean room, or laboratory. The method includes positioning alow-microbe/low particulate commercial portable air conditioner withinthe hospital, clinic, clean room, or laboratory. The low-microbe/lowparticulate commercial portable air conditioner includes a housing, thehousing having an ambient air entry grill, a cold air discharge grate, acondenser air inlet grill and a warm air discharge grill disposedtherein. The low-microbe/low particulate commercial portable airconditioner also includes a plurality of wheels, the plurality of wheelsaffixed to the housing and an evaporator positioned within the housing.In addition, the low-microbe/low particulate commercial portable airconditioner has an evaporator chamber positioned within the housing andabutting the evaporator, the evaporator chamber in fluid communicationwith the ambient air entry grill and the cold air discharge grate, theevaporator chamber coated with smooth surface insulation, a condenserpositioned within the housing, wherein the condenser is isolated fromthe evaporator chamber. The method also includes drawing ambient roomair though the ambient air entry grill, and cooling and cleaning the airin the evaporator chamber to form cool clean air. The method alsoincludes discharging the cool air through the cold air discharge grate.

In addition, the disclosure includes a low-microbe/low particulatecommercial portable air conditioner. The low-microbe/low particulatecommercial portable air conditioner includes a housing, the housinghaving an ambient air entry grill, a cold air discharge grate, acondenser air inlet grill and a warm air discharge grill disposedtherein. The low-microbe/low particulate commercial portable airconditioner also includes a plurality of wheels, the plurality of wheelsaffixed to the housing and an evaporator positioned within the housing.In addition, the low-microbe/low particulate commercial portable airconditioner has an evaporator chamber positioned within the housing andabutting the evaporator, the evaporator chamber in fluid communicationwith the ambient air entry grill and the cold air discharge grate.Further, the low-microbe/low particulate commercial portable airconditioner includes a HEPA filter, the HEPA filter positioned betweenthe ambient air entry grill and the evaporator chamber and within thehousing and a condenser positioned within the housing, wherein thecondenser is isolated from the evaporator chamber and evaporator airstream.

In addition, the disclosure includes a low-microbe/low particulatecommercial portable air conditioner. The low-microbe/low particulatecommercial portable air conditioner includes a housing, the housinghaving an ambient air entry grill, a cold air discharge grate, acondenser air inlet grill and a warm air discharge grill disposedtherein. The low-microbe/low particulate commercial portable airconditioner also includes a plurality of wheels, the plurality of wheelsaffixed to the housing and an evaporator positioned within the housing.In addition, the low-microbe/low particulate commercial portable airconditioner has an evaporator chamber positioned within the housing andabutting the evaporator, the evaporator chamber in fluid communicationwith the ambient air entry grill and the cold air discharge grate.Further, the low-microbe/low particulate commercial portable airconditioner includes a UV light, the UV light positioned within theevaporator chamber and a condenser positioned within the housing,wherein the condenser and condenser air stream are isolated from theevaporator chamber and evaporator air stream.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

The present disclosure is best understood from the following detaileddescription when read with the accompanying FIGURE. It is emphasizedthat, in accordance with the standard practice in the industry, variousfeatures are not drawn to scale. In fact, the dimensions of the variousfeatures may be arbitrarily increased or reduced for clarity ofdiscussion.

The FIGURE is a schematic depiction of a low-microbe/low particulatecommercial portable air conditioner consistent with at least oneembodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

It is to be understood that the following disclosure provides manydifferent embodiments, or examples, for implementing different featuresof various embodiments. Specific examples of components and arrangementsare described below to simplify the present disclosure. These are, ofcourse, merely examples and are not intended to be limiting. Inaddition, the present disclosure may repeat reference numerals and/orletters in the various examples. This repetition is for the purpose ofsimplicity and clarity and does not in itself dictate a relationshipbetween the various embodiments and/or configurations discussed.

The FIGURE depicts low-microbe/low particulate commercial portable airconditioner 100 consistent with at least one embodiment of the presentdisclosure. Low-microbe/low particulate commercial portable airconditioner 100 includes housing 110, housing 110 having ambient airentry grill 120 and cold air discharge grate 130 disposed therein.Housing 110 further includes condenser air entry grill 115 and warm airdischarge grill 140 disposed therein. Affixed to housing 110 are aplurality of wheels 150, the wheels adapted to allow movement ofcommercial portable air conditioner 100.

Positioned within housing 110 are evaporator 160 and condenser 170. Alsopositioned within housing 110 are HEPA filter 180 and evaporator chamber190. HEPA filter 180 and evaporator chamber 190 are fluidly connected.Evaporator chamber 190 is in fluid connection with cold air dischargegrate 130. HEPA filter 180 removes particulates from ambient room air182 at least 99.97% of particles that have a size of 0.3 μm.

In certain embodiments of the present disclosure, UV light source 200 ispositioned within evaporator chamber 190. UV light source 200 is adaptedto kill microbes that grow on coils of evaporator 160, are presentwithin evaporator chamber 190, are within cool clean air 184, or acombination thereof. In certain embodiments, UV light source 200 emitsultraviolet C light. Evaporator chamber 190 may be coated with smoothsurface insulation 210. Smooth surface insulation 210 may be non-porous,such as a foil-faced insulation. Unlike traditional commercial portableair conditioners, which use urethane or fiberglass insulation and havepores where microbes can attach and grow, smooth surface insulation 210is adapted to retard growth of microbes by denying pores in which themicrobes can attach and grow.

During operation, ambient room air 182 is drawn through ambient airentry grill 120 and passes through HEPA filter 180. HEPA filter 180removes microbes and other airborne particles, reducing microbes andcontaminates that enter evaporator chamber 190. UV light from UV light200 source operates to kill microbes that may be present on theevaporator coils of evaporator 160 and in the evaporator chamber 190.Smooth surface insulation 210 insulates evaporator chamber 190 whileretarding growth of microbes within evaporator chamber 190. Evaporator160 cools ambient room air 182, discharging cool clean air 184 throughcold air discharge grate 130. As used herein, “cool clean air 184”refers to air that is cooler than ambient room air 182 and has fewerparticulates and/or microbes than ambient room air 182. Condenser makeupair 192 may be brought in from outside of the conditioned spaceutilizing, for example, a duct. Condenser makeup air 192 is then movedthrough condenser 170 to pick up the heat, and hot air 194 is dischargedthrough warm air discharge grill 140 to outside the conditioned spacevia, for example, a duct. By transporting condenser makeup air 192 andhot air 194 from a location outside of the conditioned space, hot air194 is isolated from ambient room air 182 and cool clean air 184.

Unlike traditional commercial portable air conditioners, low-microbe/lowparticulate commercial portable air conditioner 100 may be used to coolair within facilities where growth and contaminates within and dischargefrom the commercial portable air conditioner is particularly undesirableand where ambient room air needs to be treated for contaminates.Further, operation of low-microbe/low particulate commercial portableair conditioner 100 may act to sterilize the air in the space in whichthe low-microbe/low particulate commercial portable air conditioner 100cools. Also unlike most traditional portable air conditioners,low-microbe/low particulate commercial portable air conditioner 100 usesan isolated condenser inlet and outlet to exclude the condenserairstream from the ambient room air. Examples include hospitals,clinics, clean rooms, and laboratories.

The foregoing outlines features of several embodiments so that a personof ordinary skill in the art may better understand the aspects of thepresent disclosure. Such features may be replaced by any one of numerousequivalent alternatives, only some of which are disclosed herein. One ofordinary skill in the art should appreciate that they may readily usethe present disclosure as a basis for designing or modifying otherprocesses and structures for carrying out the same purposes and/orachieving the same advantages of the embodiments introduced herein. Oneof ordinary skill in the art should also realize that such equivalentconstructions do not depart from the spirit and scope of the presentdisclosure and that they may make various changes, substitutions, andalterations herein without departing from the spirit and scope of thepresent disclosure.

1. A low-microbe/low particulate commercial portable air conditionercomprising: a housing, the housing having an ambient air entry grill, acold air discharge grate, a condenser air inlet grill and a warm airdischarge grill disposed therein; a plurality of wheels, the pluralityof wheels affixed to the housing; an evaporator positioned within thehousing; an evaporator chamber positioned within the housing andabutting the evaporator, the evaporator chamber in fluid communicationwith the ambient air entry grill and the cold air discharge grate, theevaporator chamber coated with smooth surface insulation; and acondenser positioned within the housing, wherein the condenser isisolated from the evaporator chamber.
 2. The low-microbe/low particulatecommercial portable air conditioner of claim 1 further comprising a HEPAfilter, the HEPA filter positioned between the ambient air entry grilland the evaporator chamber and within the housing.
 3. Thelow-microbe/low particulate portable air conditioner of claim 2 furthercomprising a UV light, the UV light positioned within the evaporatorchamber.
 4. The low-microbe/low particulate portable air conditioner ofclaim 1, wherein the smooth surface insulation is non-porous.
 5. Thelow-microbe/low particulate portable air conditioner of claim 4, whereinthe smooth surface insulation is foil-lined insulation.
 6. A method ofcooling air within a hospital, clinic, clean room, or laboratorycomprising: positioning a low-microbe/low particulate commercialportable air conditioner within the hospital, clinic, clean room, orlaboratory, the low-microbe/low particulate portable air conditionercomprising: a housing, the housing having an ambient air entry grill, acold air discharge grate, a condenser air inlet grill and a warm airdischarge grill disposed therein; a plurality of wheels, the pluralityof wheels affixed to the housing; an evaporator positioned within thehousing, an evaporator chamber positioned within the housing andabutting the evaporator, the evaporator chamber in fluid communicationwith the ambient air entry grill and the cold air discharge grate, theevaporator chamber coated with smooth surface insulation; and acondenser positioned within the housing, wherein the condenser isisolated from the evaporator chamber. drawing ambient room air thoughthe ambient air entry grill; cooling the air in the evaporator chamberto form cool air; and discharging the cool air through the cold airdischarge grate.
 7. The method of cooling air within a hospital, clinic,clean room, or laboratory of claim 6 further comprising; passing theambient room air through a HEPA filter, the HEPA filter positionedbetween the air entry grill and the evaporator chamber; and removingmicrobes and contaminates using the HEPA filter.
 8. The method ofcooling air within a hospital, clinic, clean room, or laboratory ofclaim 7 further comprising; irradiating the evaporator and evaporatorchamber with a UV light.
 9. The method of cooling air within a hospital,clinic, clean room or laboratory of claim 6, wherein the cool air ismore sterile than the ambient room air.
 10. A low-microbe/lowparticulate commercial portable air conditioner comprising: a housing,the housing having an ambient air entry grill, a cold air dischargegrate, a condenser air inlet grill and a warm air discharge grilldisposed therein; a plurality of wheels, the plurality of wheels affixedto the housing; an evaporator positioned within the housing, anevaporator chamber positioned within the housing and abutting theevaporator, the evaporator chamber in fluid communication with theambient air entry grill and the cold air discharge grate; a HEPA filter,the HEPA filter positioned between the ambient air entry grill and theevaporator chamber and within the housing; and a condenser positionedwithin the housing, wherein the condenser and condenser air stream areisolated from the evaporator chamber and evaporator air stream.
 11. Thelow-microbe/low particulate portable air conditioner of claim 10 furthercomprising a UV light, the UV light positioned within the evaporatorchamber.
 12. A low-microbe/low particulate commercial portable airconditioner comprising: a housing, the housing having an ambient airentry grill, a cold air discharge grate, a condenser air inlet grill anda warm air discharge grill disposed therein; a plurality of wheels, theplurality of wheels affixed to the housing; an evaporator positionedwithin the housing, an evaporator chamber positioned within the housingand abutting the evaporator, the evaporator chamber in fluidcommunication with the ambient air entry grill and the cold airdischarge grate; a UV light, the UV light positioned within theevaporator chamber; and a condenser positioned within the housing,wherein the condenser and condenser air stream are isolated from theevaporator chamber and evaporator air stream.